Portillo’s cuts projected openings, breakfast pilot

Core Insights - Portillo's is experiencing underperformance in Texas due to low brand awareness and a less concentrated restaurant presence compared to its core market in Chicago [3][6] - The company is adjusting its growth strategy by reducing its unit growth target from 12 to 8 new units, representing a 33% decrease, and lowering same-store sales projections from a growth of 1%-3% to a decline of 1%-1.5% [6] - The brand is implementing strategic changes to enhance value and service, including simplifying operations and optimizing capital deployment to achieve positive free cash flow by 2026 [5][6] Market Performance - Recent openings in Florida and Arizona have performed well, but the overall performance in Texas has not met expectations [4][6] - The company is facing potential compression of unit-level margins due to more normalized average unit volumes as it expands across the U.S. [4] Strategic Focus - The company aims to sharpen its focus on core markets and address brand awareness and convenience issues [3][5] - Portillo's is discontinuing its breakfast pilot program in Chicago to streamline operations [5][6]